Standard all-terrain-vehicle and multi-purpose off-road utility vehicle engines are mounted to a frame at a position intermediate the front and rear wheels. The arrangement includes a forward-positioned cylinder or cylinders with a crankcase below the cylinder. The transmission extends rearward from the crankcase. In the case of a continuously variable transmission, a drive pulley is coupled to the engine crank shaft. A belt extends rearward from the drive pulley to a driven pulley. The driven pulley is then coupled to the driveshaft or shafts through various gears. The driveshaft, or driveshafts with a four-wheel-drive vehicle, extends to a drive or differential to propel the wheels.
This conventional arrangement generally works well, especially with a straddle mounted vehicle. However, drawbacks include a hot exhaust pipe, noise, and high engine running temperatures. The hot exhaust pipe exits the cylinder from a front side thereof and may pass by the leg of the user. Space problems also occur with side-by-side seating arrangements as the larger part of the engine is in the area needed for the users' legs.
Therefore, a different engine arrangement may be desirable for an ATV, especially one with a side-by-side seating arrangement and a continuously variable transmission. Certain drawbacks of the prior systems are overcome and various other advantages are achieved with the arrangement set forth herein.